RAMble

This is another old article from the depths of my hard drive, its going up partially for my own reference as the address space sizes per bit is useful from time to time, and also coz I might as well make it public again, someone may find it useful/interesting too.

Its all about RAM and how it is addressed....

Despite the complexity of the chips themselves the actual way they are used is pretty simple. Every RAM chip has address input lines, and data I/O lines. At this point its worth saying that RAM chips come in different types with different capacity per location. I am working with 8 bit chips predominantly as I am working with an 8 bit system. By 8 bit I mean that every memory location (as defined by the address lines) contains 8 bits - 1 byte. You can get 16 bit chips that hold 16 bits (aka a WORD) per location. They also have a CS (chip select) and a WR (write) line, the last two lines are control signals, in most systems you will have multiple RAM chips sat on the same bus, they will be connected together in a ladder formation on the board, but then can be thought of as piggybacking on top of each other, with the address and data lines all connected. The CS line tells the chip to shutup or to be active, when its told to shut up it turns off its data lines and does not talk on the data bus, clearly you should only have 1 RAM chip active at any given time or you would get confusion on the bus. By bus I just mean the group of 8 data lines, literally just 8 copper tracks that run from the RAM to the CPU.

The address bus comprises of 16 lines from the CPU and these just refer to a certain number, starting with A0 these lines are named A0 to A15.

The addressable memory of a system is not actually tied to the "bit" number of the CPU, i.e. an 8 bit CPU does not necessarily have 8 bits of address space. The Z80 is an 8 bit CPU, but it has a 16 bit address space. With its 16 address lines (A0-A15) it can refer to 65535 distinct memory locations. Think of the address spaces as a binary number - if you have 16 digits, in binary these can be either on or off, the largest decimal number a 16 bit binary number can describe is 65535. Each of these memory locations contains 8 bits, or 1 byte, therefore the Z80 can access a maximum of 65535x8 bits, which is 64KB. To access any larger amount you would need additional address lines, adding 1 more address line (A16 - i.e. the 17th address line) would permit you to address 128KB of RAM if its an 8 bit system. Some early supercomputers actually had 18 bit address spaces which permit you to define enough memory locations for 256KB.

Any 8 bit computer that claims to have more than 64KB is actually using paging, the CPU can only be connected to 64KB at any given time. As the RAM chips share the same data bus - ie the same set of copper tracks to the CPU it is possible to shut them all down bar the single RAM chip that is in use at that time. Usually this is done in 32KB lumps, the lower 32KB remains constantly connected to the CPU (otherwise it would forget what it was doing) and the upper 32KB is swapped in and out as required. As long as only 1 RAM chip is active at any given time the system works. Due to the way binary numbers work and the fact that the system work on electrical voltage states it is possible to use the address line activity to shut down or activate the right chip. If each chip holds a maximum of 32KB then if the 16th address line is high (ie a 1) then you rig up the logic to put the lower 32KB chip in standby, and bring the upper 32KB chip back to life. After all if that address line stays high then the memory it is accessing at that point has to be above 32KB, ie in the upper RAM chip.

Of course even with paging in blocks of RAM the whole 64KB limit was a severe limitation, recently processors have hit the limit of the 32bit address space. Back in 1988 when CPUs moved to a 32bit bus the amount of addressable space seemed beyond anyone's wildest dreams, a whole 4 Gigabytes, memory that would cost more than the price of 2 or 3 houses. Imagine spending 900,000 pounds on RAM today and you get the idea of how impossible it seemed that we would get there, but with only 32 digits that can be 0 or 1 you can only define 4GB of address space. A 32 bit PC will never be able to see more than 4GB of ram, it is blind to anything above that, due to various reasons you wont actually get al whole lot of use out of your 4th GB as the address space is borrowed for other purposes as when the standards were laid down it was thought that there would never be any physical RAM at those address locations.

Some PCs will not support RAM up to 4GB anyway - this is because they chose an upper number when designing the board and didn't etch a full complement of 32 address lines. If they only gave the board 30 lines the max you could ever get the system to see would be 1GB. The fewer address lines the simpler the board can be, the fewer board layers are needed and the cheaper it all becomes to make. The CPU still has a 32bit address space but the system bus only has 30 bits to play with. The Atari ST used a M68000 a 16 bit processor with in-theory a 32 bit bus, in theory the 68000 could address 4GB but the upper 8 bit of the address space were simply ignored when it came to talk to the bus, it only has 24 bits of address space, the CPU would have needed 4 more pins to cope with a full 32bit address space. Ditching the upper byte meant the 68000 could address a maximum of 16MB, but in the ST the memory management unit and the PCB were only wired with 22 address lines, so the max an ST could ever see and use (without modifications involving wires soldered onto the CPU) was 4MB, a shed load of RAM for the time. Spending the money deploying a full 32bit address bus would be money wasted making the board much more complicated to support memory amounts that users would never install.

1 -single byte
11 - 4 bytes
111- 8 bytes
1111- 16 bytes
11111- 32 bytes
111111-64 bytes
1111111-128 bytes
11111111- 256 bytes
111111111-512 bytes
1111111111- 1KB
11111111111- 2KB
111111111111- 4KB
1111111111111- 8KB
11111111111111- 16KB
111111111111111- 32KB
1111111111111111- 64KB
11111111111111111- 128KB
111111111111111111- 256KB
1111111111111111111- 512KB
11111111111111111111- 1MB
111111111111111111111- 2MB
1111111111111111111111- 4MB
11111111111111111111111- 8MB
111111111111111111111111- 16MB
1111111111111111111111111- 32MB
11111111111111111111111111- 64MB
111111111111111111111111111- 128MB
1111111111111111111111111111- 256MB
11111111111111111111111111111-512MB
111111111111111111111111111111- 1GB
1111111111111111111111111111111- 2GB
11111111111111111111111111111111- 4GB


Going to a 64bit address space takes you back in to the realms of insane amounts of RAM, which would again cost you more than a good few houses. 64 bits can define enough ram locations for 16Exabytes of storage. More than we will ever probably see in a home system. People have made claims about that before but this time there is probably a good reason why it will never happen, the fact that people only live for about 80 odd years. Assuming you took HD video of your entire life you would never fill 16EB of storage, and even then if you did amass that amount of data there is no way you would want to store it in a RAM system. Writing it to disk is another matter and doesn't follow the same constraint as its not based on blocks of space defined by large binary patterns. So 16EB is more RAM than you could ever fill, and you would never store that much data in that way anyway. So somewhere between 4GB and the 16EB is the figure of "more than you will ever need".

Modern 64bit PC motherboards so not have 64 address lines anyway, its pointless to design it that way. By the time that amount of RAM becomes a viable option the motherboard would have been landfill for well over a decade. The board would be significantly more difficult and expensive to make and no one would ever benefit. You can safely assume that if a modern PC board will take say 16GB of RAM, then only 34 address lines have been designed and laid out.

In fact the current 64bit CPUs don't even bother with the fully 64bit address space, the AMD Athlon X2 only has 40 address lines, the max this chip will every be able to address is 1TB, again that's more than the chip is ever likely to see in its lifetime. Even internally it can only understand address ranges that are 48 bit - or 256TB, this is its entire viewable range and applies to virtual as well as physical RAM.

111111111111111111111111111111111- 8GB
1111111111111111111111111111111111- 16GB
11111111111111111111111111111111111- 32GB
111111111111111111111111111111111111- 64GB
1111111111111111111111111111111111111- 128GB
11111111111111111111111111111111111111- 256GB
111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 512GB
1111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 1TB
11111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 2TB
111111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 4TB
1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 8TB
11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 16TB
111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 32TB
1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 64TB
11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 128TB
111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 256TB
1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 512TB
11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 1PB
111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 2PB
1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 4PB
11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 8PB
111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 16PB
1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 32PB
11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 64PB
111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 128PB
1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 256PB
11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 512PB
111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 1EB
1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 2EB
11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 4EB
111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 8EB
1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111- 16EB

Go towards 128bit/256bit/512bit address spaces and I think you start getting into the realms of more atoms than there are in the solar system, i.e. if every atom in the solar system was made part of a RAM system somehow and each atom represented 1 bit you would run out of atoms to use before you filled the address space, don't take my word for that as I have no plans to count any further. :)

MSX RAM Upgrade

A few weeks ago I snapped up an MSX machine on eBay, had wanted one for a while but the MSX range of machines is a very wide, and I wanted an interesting one! Well the one I found is probably the most interesting one there ever was. MSX was an 8bit standard set up by a consortium of Japanese companies in the 80s who were trying to create a range of machines which possessed the then-unheard of feature called software compatibility. So at heart all MSX machines are very much alike, its the bolt on extras that differentiate them.

The one I bought was the Yamaha C5XM machine, an MSX 1 standard machine but its bolt on extra was the heart of the top of the range (at the time) Yamaha DX7 Synthesiser. Its got a honking great synth board stashed away inside which is midi compatible and has over 100 built in voices. Of course MSX software cant use that as its not standard so it has a separate ROM for the music application. They are not common tho as they didn't sell well, it was a niche market and at between 500 and 700 quid a go there were not cheap.

Anyway - having got this machine I not only wanted to play around with the synth module, I also wanted to run up some games - mainly Gunfright - my hands down favourite 8 bit game which surprisingly got an outing on the MSX.

I was to be disappointed, my MSX only has 32KB on-board, which is a drop too little to do anything useful these days. The problem is actually two-fold, firstly the fact I don't have much ram, secondly is the way MSX software is presented these days means that 32KB is less useful than it once was.

As MSX machines all had a cartridge slot, the majority of the software available these days for the emulators is in the format of a ROM dump. Even games that were never originally available on ROM have been snap-shotted and saved as binary files. This is great if you have an emulator as you just load the .rom into the systems virtual ROM slot, its also good if you have a spare ROM cart and an eprom blower as you can make a real ROM cart.

As ROMs are useful and neat, it seems all other formats have died a death, I can't find anywhere where you can download MSX software in non-ROM format. You would assume there is a way to turn the old .rom files back into wav files such as there is for many other formats. Well yes and no, spectrum and oric data files are not really ROM files, (snapshots aside), most are actually block patterns that were once on tape, when loaded sequentially the emulator is running the exact same operations that the tape loader of old was doing, only a damn sight faster. A binary ROM file contains no information about how the software was actually loaded, its just a block of information that appears on the data bus, there is no "how to load and where to start" information that was once part of the tape version of the games. These loaders are no more, stripped off by the process of dumping the RAM into a ROM file. There are what are called "wrappers" generic programs that take a ROM, and wrap a loader around it and spit out a WAV file - sounds just what I need, except there is a RAM overhead. To load a 32KB game (which was most of them) you actually need a 48KB machine as the loader needs to live somewhere and then loads the game code somewhere else), it could be a lot neater, but as the wrapper has to work for every game it cant be too clever with how it does this or many games would not work.

So I still have too little RAM even if the game was originally for a 32KB MSX machine. Even the bloody RAM checker app is 32KB and needs to be blown to an EPROM or loaded via a wrapper you need to have 48KB.

I have an old set of magazines from the 80s in a set of binders that I found in a junk shop for thruppence each, it has an inside and out review of this machine, and it states that this beast has 48K. Sadly the journalists took Yamaha's word for this and it only partially true. MSX machines led the way in misleading spec sheets. It does have 48K inside, but 16K is dedicated video RAM so really I only have 32K usable. Even machines with 64K were loudly touted as having 80KB - cheeky really.

I can find a 16KB RAM upgrade cartridge online for not an insignificant sum, but that would only take me to 48K and the game I really want to run needs 48K anyway, so once wrappedI would need 64KB again. 64KB RAM carts are rare, mainly because they were the top of the range, expensive when new and sold in low numbers. Also I think MSX is only really a loved format in some areas, most of the MSX information online is dead, tantalising links to pages that once held good info now yield only 404 messages. The hardcore MSX crowd have their upgrades that take an MSX1 machine to MSX2 standard, and add multiple megabytes of RAM plus disk drives, hard drives and all sorts of hardware that is not a great deal of use unless you are daft enough to try to make the MSX machine the only machine you use, but I don't want to get into mod scene, and it seems that most MSX machines came with 64KB, only the ridiculously expensive ones ironically had less to keep the price from going even higher.

So faced with the above problem I have decided to bite the bullet, I am going to build my own RAM expansion cartridge from scratch. I managed to find the service manual and schematic for the MSX machine I have, which luckily contains a good description of what the MSX memory manager custom chip does on system bootup. It also has a lot of very good information on the RAM subsystem and the signals presented on the rear connector.

Time for a trip to Jaycar and a rummage in my arcade scrap drawer. Oddly enough the hardest part to source was the edge connector. PCB edges as connectors were very common in the 80s, but were generally a bad idea. Connectors cost money and as you needed the PCB anyway if that could be one half of the connector then it was money saved. In the end I had to buy them online and import them from the US.

Once they arrived I took my wire cutters to an old SCSI cable I rescued from a bin at work for some unknown reason and made the cable I needed. The PCB is a small chunk of prototyping board from the local electronics shop, the TTL logic chips and right-angle edge connector is from an old arcade board and the resistors are from old PCBs I keep to scavenge parts from.



Decided to take the easy road and instead of solder dozens of wires between the two chips to link them together I would just solder them on top of each other. Such a scheme would make electronics engineers weep, but if its good enough for Sir Clive its good enough for me. Round the back is 1 pin that is not soldered to its mate - thats the CS pin which controls which chip is active on the bus at any given time.

I got this far and realised I hadn't allowed for pull up resistors on the data lines, much swearing later and I found I had a resistor network that would do the job, that came from an old microwave oven control panel PCB - don't ask. Its the long yellow thing on the PCB.



Next time I may well make my own PCB as soldering this all together was tedious in the extreme.

Actually the toughest part was working out the best layout for the chips and the resistors, there is no perfect solution and some pins were hard to get to when the thing was fully wired. This is just the data bus to the edge connector via the pull up resistors in the resistor network.



And this is when the address lines, control logic and power feeds are wired in.



All that wiring just for 64KB, imagine the wiring that's built into your 1GB DIMMs!!!



So, deep breath time, plug into the back....



Machine boots, finds new RAM, assigns the 64KB block to be master instead of the 32KB on-board, and she will now happily take a drop of Gunfright!!!



Pleased with myself I are!!!

Am going to cut the PCB in half as the top half is unused then fit it in a small case, will be about the side of a matchbox when that's done.